More Stories From Main Street Businesses

mk North America's name doesn't reveal its German roots — mk stands for Maschinenbau Kitz — but that country's approach to capitalism still influences how the company is run. Andreas Haussmann, a German immigrant who owns 25 percent of the company that was founded in 1988, approves of the paternalism...

It used to be that Kirk MacNaughton was regularly able to build as many houses as he could on a plot of land under local zoning regulations, so long as he had the financing to make it happen and there was a demand. MacNaughton began building houses in 1983, about six years after he started investing...

Marking 20 years in business, Cadco Ltd. has found success making commercial kitchen equipment after its president, W. Michael Shanahan, said he bought a manufacturer to exert control over his products. Shanahan, who was previously vice president of sales and marketing at Waring, a manufacturer...

Holly DiMauro's dramatic career shift from medical technician to small restaurant owner was one she loved. But it was a single dish at the restaurant that launched yet another career change. DiMauro opened a breakfast-lunch café in Canaan in 2003, before opening Holly's Cafe a year's later in Salisbury....

In the high stakes race to develop the next big drug for rare and serious diseases, Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. is ready to step to the next level. The company, now adding scientists and expanding research, has come a long way since the drug manufacturer's early years — when founder Bill Rice...

In an industry where service levels differentiate information technology products, 35-year-old Kelser Corp. is launching a suite of new offerings anchored on its prime competitive edge — strong relationships with local companies. "Ninety-five percent of our business is done in a 70-mile radius,"...

EAST WINDSOR — As a small independent supermarket, family-owned Geissler's competes among big-box names to win consumers over. Jim Nilsson, company president and the third generation of the Nilsson family running the business said Geissler's is actually at an advantage because their small-town...

At a time when even big-name brands like Puma and Lululemon are stepping up their game with celebrity endorsements and supply-chain changes, Shriver Enterprises LLC, a start-up in Marlborough, is entering the active-wear market with pants that it says can help people lose weight. Twenty-seven year-old...

FARMINGTON — Josh Wedge thought he would become a state trooper after graduating from Central Connecticut State University with a criminology degree and later retire and open a gym. Wedge, who grew up overweight and admittedly insecure, has skipped over the state trooper plans after parents of...